Patriots strength guru Mike Woicik, on the secret to improved conditioning: "The guys have worked at it harder." - 0 Comments

While I was working on this story for Tuesday's paper on the success of the Patriots run game in the second half against the Vikings, I thought back to last year and the repeated fourth-quarter collapses. From the Jets game in Week 2 all the way to the Texans game in the finale, it was an epidemic, more than a trend.

Yet this year since the loss to the Jets, the Patriots have out-scored teams 103-59 in the second half and overtime. That's a dramatic turnaround. Perhaps, I thought, they are simply in better shape.